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This website is dedicated to the memory of Don Shipps and Billy Brown. Family Men, Master Musicians, Big-Hearted Jokesters...but most importantly
BEST FRIENDS
to everyone they knew.
The hole left in our hearts by your untimely passing will never be filled. |
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To the families of Don and Billy, our hearts are with you at this difficult time as you continue to feel the loss of your dear ones. Please know that
Don and Billy will live on in all of our hearts forever. |
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The Concert to Celebrate Their Lives
was held October 16th, 2004 at the Shrine Mosque
Click on the graphic below to download a flyer!
SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS SPECIAL NIGHT HERE
If you missed it, you missed one of the BEST concerts in Springfield's history! Thanks to ALL the concert organizers, sponsors, and musicians
who donated their time and talents to this very special cause. |
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OPEN LETTER TO THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF
DON SHIPPS AND BILL BROWN
My name is Stacy Willhoit. I am Tsa-la-gi (Cherokee Nation). Also adopted Sicangu, Lakota Nation. Also adopted Skidi, Pawnee Nation. I wish
to thank the families of Bill Brown and Don Shipps for recognizing and acknowledging all the many People who loved and cared for your relatives. By allowing us all to grieve with you and to celebrate their lives
with you, you have gifted each and every one of us with a healing of our hearts, our minds, and our spirits. Your openness and acceptance of all the many People who have been touched by your relatives through
their lives, as well as through their music, has honored these men, honored you and us, and especially has honored the Great Spirit (God our Creator). We lift up our heads, we open our hearts, and we give
Praise to our Creator as One Heart, One Mind, One Spirit to express our gratitude for the blessings we have each received through knowing your relatives. And within the painful sorrow of losing our dear friends
and (to some) extended family, we have had the opportunity to experience the Divine Mercy and Compassion of God our Creator, when we stop to realize how much more close this loss has drawn us each to one another and how
much strength and joy and hope has been created from this coming together as One In the ways of my People, when a loved one passes from this life into the next life with God our Creator, we Care for the Spirit of the
departed as though they are not really gone. We do this to honor their life. We do this to honor the life we shared in with them. We do this to honor God our Creator, who has blessed us with all of
these things we hold in our hearts. For a year…sometimes three, sometimes four, or more…we Care for the Spirit of the one who has made the long journey across the Milky Way to live with our Creator. We speak
with them. We laugh with them. We cry with them. We sing with them. We dance with them. We eat and drink with them. We pray with them and we pray for them and their relations. This
website was created as my gift to you the family members, to Bill and Don, and to all the many relations who have come together as One during this time of loss and sorrow. Here we may all Care for the Spirit of
our dear Don and Billy. We may share with each other and with them until such time as we are all ready to Wipe The Tears and release them fully into the loving care of our Creator. Aho. (July 29, 2004) |
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If Tomorrow Never Comes
If I knew it would be the last time
that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time,
I would spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would know I do.
If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything right.
There will always be another day
to say our "I love you's,"
and certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do's?"
But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget,
tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike.
And today may be the last chance you get
to hold your loved one tight.
So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day
that you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss,
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today,
whisper in their ear,
tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear.
Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"please forgive me," "thank you," or "it's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.
~ Author Unknown ~ |
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Some thoughts on helping others cope with grief
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